So, I'm thinking about opening an arcade...

[Razzmatazz]

This is a good idea as if you think about the demographic of gamers and drinkers, young males, it should be a win win. I'm from Kent in England and Canterbury has a large student population, at least 50% of the 40,000-50,000 that live there. I've thought about this as an option as a bar with flat screens scattered around with games on would be a great place to unwind. Wii on a projector, get the women involved. Perhaps have the bar with a modern interior and even a jukebox with game songs on? The ideas are endless, but I do agree that instead of arcade units (perhaps in a backroom) have flat screen TVs or projectors and make it more a social environment. Have a pool table, an area with student food such as chips and burgers (to try and prevent greasy controllers) and a student membership scheme perhaps. Obviously don't just entice students as families or teenagers would be big business too. Location is key though, as if you are near a university it could well be the best market. Even if they don't like spending too much, once they've had a few pints they would be more than willing to do FIFA or Call of Duty tournaments at £1/2 entry with weekly leaderboards and prizes?
Shit, I wanna open one now!!!

[the7k]

What city are you in that this wouldn't work?

It's a very uptight city, and that's putting it lightly.

We haven't had a Rock station stay in this town, because every time one springs up, the religious fundamentalists will do everything in their power to get them to move to another city. Our civic center/stadium has also barred all manner of popular musical performers from showing up short of contemporary Christian. And no - this isn't an exaggeration.

Civic center is still home to gun show after gun show - at least one every month. The violence of the arcades wouldn't be a huge concern, but anything else they could possibly find objectionable would likely be cause for a problem. Serving 'adult' beverages alongside 'kids' games would certainly raise eyebrows here.

I'm thinking, if I did tack on another form of business with the arcade, the best bet would probably just be to sell used games (since they are pretty profitable), accessories (arcade sticks and fight pads would be appropriate - plus, accessories tend to allow a lot of room for mark-up) and pre-ordered new games (I'd at least be guaranteed profit, as opposed to getting a ton of new games in that wouldn't sell - depending on the amount of profit my store gets back, I might even be able to sell them at a discount to beat out GS and the like).

[fvgazi]

Sounds like you need to get out of there ASAP. Although, who says you need to open the arcade in your city. If there is a more "open" city close by you could start there.

Violence is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of arcade.

[the7k]

Well, looks like the guy with the mess of arcade cabinets for $600 isn't responding to any of my communications, so it's back to searching.

I found one guy who is trying to clean out a warehouse of arcades, including an 'empty' cabinet for $100. This a good price? He also had Blitz for $400, which apparently has everything working except a hard-drive - but that seems a bit much for something I'd end up converting anyway.

It seems like everyone says that buying cabinets is the last thing you should do when trying to open an arcade, but I'd really like to have first-hand knowledge of the inside of an arcade before getting knee deep into this - and building an arcade from the base up would likely help. (Speaking of which, are there any guides for building a real arcade? It seems like every guide out there in book form and on the internet is just about putting an emu-rig into an arcade.)

[Hobie-wan]

I'm pretty sure I've seen empty cabs for $0-50, so $100 seems way too high to me unless they're desirable ones in good shape.

[the7k]

I'm pretty sure I've seen empty cabs for $0-50, so $100 seems way too high to me unless they're desirable ones in good shape.

Seriously? Is that the 'usual' price or the 'I don't realize what I'm selling and I need to get them out of the house' price?

Pretty much every price I've seen on an arcade in my parts is twelve miles past ridiculous. They'd be very eligible for the whole 'post funny listings from eBay/craigslist' deal.

This site has had the only half-way decent prices on arcades I've ever seen that's reasonably within pick-up distance... but I usually see shit like this.

I keep hearing about people finding arcades at cheap-as-all-hell prices, but just like Santa Claus, I can only go so long without seeing before I stop believing.

[Hobie-wan]

I'm pretty sure I've seen empty cabs for $0-50, so $100 seems way too high to me unless they're desirable ones in good shape.

Seriously? Is that the 'usual' price or the 'I don't realize what I'm selling and I need to get them out of the house' price?

Pretty much every price I've seen on an arcade in my parts is twelve miles past ridiculous. They'd be very eligible for the whole 'post funny listings from eBay/craigslist' deal.

This site has had the only half-way decent prices on arcades I've ever seen that's reasonably within pick-up distance... but I usually see shit like this.

I keep hearing about people finding arcades at cheap-as-all-hell prices, but just like Santa Claus, I can only go so long without seeing before I stop believing.

The key words being 'empty' vs 'desirable'.

[the7k]

Well, I figure I may as well get some input. Gotta couple of polls, and I want to know what appeals to people.

The name. I had wanted to use Forgotten Worlds, but it seems to be a name that confuses people at first. While I have an explanation behind the name, if I have to explain it to everyone, then it isn't a very good name.
http://micropoll.com/t/KEsotZBxjP

Genre focus. While having a mix is obviously necessary, it seems like every arcade has its focus. There's two arcades here, and one focuses on redemption while the other focuses on racing. (Granted, both are clearly marketed to children, while mine would be aimed at the 18-35 crowd.) Dave and Busters is pretty well known for focusing on light gun shooters. What genre is going to pull you in? Your 'pet genre', so to speak?
http://micropoll.com/t/KEsotZBxjQ

A lot of folks say that an arcade alone just won't cut it. While I've seen dedicated arcades survive and obtain a following (Arcade UFO seems to fit the bill), it might not be the safest bet to make. I've heard of some arcades that make additional profit by having small PC 'cybercafes', and others that sell new or used video games on the side. Dave & Busters and Chuck E. Cheese have found success by merging arcades with restaurants. What combination would work to bring you in?
http://micropoll.com/t/KEsotZBxj9

Currently planning to go to the next few arcade auctions. There's one coming up in a few days, but that's too early for me to request time off from work. Also planning to pick up a few arcades from Namco's website - they have NBA Showtime for $99 as well as Marvel vs Capcom 2 for $350. The NBA Showtime I could care less about, but it's cheap (if it's fully functional - I have to wait 'til Monday for them to give me any more information), and should make for a decent conversion to, say, NBA Jam or Sunset Riders.

Oh yeah, and while we're at it - tell me about that arcade that you loved but only ever saw once and never again. For me, that arcade was Lucky & Wild, a game that mixed light-gun shooter with driving game with Starsky & Hutch. Corny as hell, sure, but it was a load of fun to play with friends - yet I only ever saw it at one arcade, which closed down shortly after.

[Bradtemple87]

People will always play competitive fighters, I would start there

[BurningDoom]

People will always play competitive fighters, I would start there

Agreed. Also get games that have light-guns, people love playing gun games together. And while I may not like it, I've seen crowds around DDR machines.